Calling all TNs

Mompv, So sorry you are going through this, and welcome to a club you never wanted to join!. We all have been there, scared, shocked, mad, crying. But there is also hope, support, empathy, sharing knowledge and smiles here. So chin up, you are not alone. Triple Neg is not a death sentence, you can beat this.

Alhusband, good luck to your wife's scan.

Jia, If your BS said she wasnt worried, try not to worry yet. We all may have funky bumps and strange spots to check out, that is our job so to speak. but take heart, not all is cancer. Wait till you have more information. It is hard I know! Thinking good thoughts for you

Mompv  as Meadow said you are not alone.  Yep cry, rant and even swear if you need too, anything that will help to get you through this.  Once you have a plan your life will take off in a different direction but you can do it.  Try if you can to drink at least 2 litres of water every day to flush the chemo through, remember to take your meds on time whether you need them or not (they have some marvellous ones now for nausea etc) and even if you don't feel nauseated it's best to take them as its harder to get on top of it.  Eat what you can and what you feel like.  I used to eat a  lot of melon because I found it was light and very refreshing but the only day I wasn't very hungry was the day of infusion. Other than that I ate as normal. It's always better to have something in your tummy.   I did suffer with constipation and my oncologist gave me coloxyl and senna but the senna in it gave me tummy pains so she have me a script for just coloxyl which I took the day before infusion and for three days after. The third day after treatment I would start to get fluey symptoms and you will soon find which days will affect you more.  Try to rest as much as possible fitting in a little exercise as well if you can even if its just a walk around the block. Once the fluey symptoms went (usually on the third day after they started) I felt on top of the world and  felt as though I had accomplished something which of course I had.  If you have hidden veins such as mine you may be advised to have a port placement.  This was a  God send to me, no more needle sticks.  It's a bit sore after you have it in but if you use an EMLA patch which numbs the area you won't feel anything other than a little push when the time comes. I won't say having chemo wasn't gruelling at times and it certainly tests you but you will be surprised at how quick the weeks go by and you will soon have it finished.  The other ladies on here will come on I am sure to offer you their tips that will help you.  Just keep in you mind that you can do this. One thing I suffered with was hiccups but I don't know why and because they didn't last long I never bothered to question it.   If you have any symptoms at all that worry you contact your Onco or breast cancer  nurse for help.  As Meadow said this is not a death sentence.   Special thoughts to you and warm hugs.   

Jianchi so sorry you have more worries but try not to panic if you can.  Your BS seems to be on to it and doesn't seem to be concerned.  Sending you lots of prayers that  all will be well. 

Cat thinking of you and hoping you feel better today.  Warm hugs.

mompv- crying, screaming and anger are normal. I've said that tears shed makes room for strength to enter. TN is not what it once was. Look at the post above from LRM216 and Titan. It's all scary. I didn't know I was TN and IDC until after surgery for lumpectomy. Keep talking and posting and reading other posts here. Join a may 2014 chemo thread and also april chemo thread too to see what's ahead. You'll find practical info, good questions to ask your doc and so much more. Hang in there and just take one day at a time

mompv, wish I could give you some positive advice as others, forgive me as I am in the middle of a cyst scare myself.  Hope things get better for all of us.

To all that are waiting for scans/results....Repeat as many times as you can...

IT'S NOTHIN' TILL IT'S SOMETHIN',    IT'S NOTHIN' TILL IT'S SOMETHIN',    IT'S NOTHIN' TILL IT'S SOMETHIN'.

Like Cocker said,  try not to let the fear rob you of a piece of joy.  Do a little something that can bring a smile to your face.  Hang in there,ladies and gent.  We get it.

And for you new gals, add me to your list of ladies that are still here and doing very well.( Node positive with a nasty path report) My 5 year mark is next month....I am going to visit my Navy son to celebrate.  And when I get home I am gonna party my fanny off!

Grateful for a wonderful Spring day with warm temps and a nice rain this afternoon.

Mompv, welcome.   I'm glad you have found the thread for your chemo group too.  I started chemo last September and joined the chemo thread group for my month.....it was one of the best things I ever did in terms of support.  I think almost all the articles about TNBC make it sound like a death sentence because they are trying to get the reader's attention.  What they really mean by the words "poor prognosis" is that other types of breast cancer have on average a better prognosis for the same stage.  I didn't want to talk about the actual statistics for a long time because I was so darn scared of those words I kept seeing in articles.  After I asked my MO about my actual case and the TNBC statistics for my particular stage, I actually felt very relieved.  They were much better than the articles had lead me to believe.  

The initial days (and months) after a diagnosis of TNBC are very upsetting for many of us.  I personally believe I had the equivalent of PTSD for at least the first two or three months.  Getting your treatment plan in place and actually beginning treatment makes things better.  It's a long road, with a lot of steps....but each individual step is very doable.  

Lisa, congrats on finishing chemo!  It will take a week (or two or three depending on the chemo) before you actually start to feeling better each day rather than worse, but it does happen!  I think the day that I popped up out of bed and walked to the kitchen to make breakfast and didn't feel like I was dragging myself there was one of the best feelings!  All the little things we used to be able to do without thinking come back bit by bit....but now we are so grateful to be able to do them again with relative ease.  It's nice.

Jia, I hope you get your results quickly.  Waiting is tough.  Like Navymom says, it's nothing until it's something.  My mantra on things like that is "I'll cross that bridge when I come to it, and it's not there yet."  I have also learned to trust my MO and her judgment on things.

Today is day #16 (of 33) rads for me.  It's going good. I can feel the rad fatigue, but nothing like chemo.  I'm just really concerned about my arm and the possibility of lymphedema since I also had an ALND.  I've been keeping it elevated a lot and cut back on exercise involving that arm until after rads are over.  I'm still walking and doing light strength training and  stretching.  I saw my RO yesterday and he agreed with me that that arm looks slightly larger than the other one.  He will send me to an LE specialist at the end of rads for sure and said to let him know if I want to go sooner.  I did PT with the LE specialist right before rads started and at that point I was fine.  I know I want to get a sleeve for flying and for the long distance bicycling I want to do.   I should probably investigate how long it takes to get a sleeve once I get measured for it.

Wishing everyone a good, peaceful day.

Hugs,

Kay

NavyMom, I'm jealous! I went to my PCP with studies in hand and she would not give me an RX for it! I asked her to keep the studies to go over at her own time and she refused! My glucose levels go between 5.8-6 which is almost prediabetic. I'm really upset by this and feel she isn't working WITH me but it's almost impossible to find a PCP here, :-(

Allydp, good luck with the taxol/carbo. You are about a week ahead of me. Keep me posted on how you feel. Everyone keep promising it's gonna be better than AC, but I'm afraid to get my hopes up.

Simplelife.  Like others, I was able to get my compression sleeves and gloves at a medical supply store.  The first time they had my size in stock, the second time they were out and I was able to get ithem 2 days later.  Medicare doesn't cover this, but my lymph therapist was able to get a grant to cover the cost.  (Breast surgeon wrote the script both times.)

Today's joke:  A Sunday school teacher was preparing her little charges to go into the big church.  One child asked why they had to be quiet.  Teacher answered "Because the adults are sleeping."

My beet seeds are sprouting.  Life is good.  Jan

My oncologist also said no, (but that it might be a good idea) but he wouldn't write the script for it. Other doctors I saw also said no. But I printed out the studies and abstracts and finally convinced my regular family doctor to go for it.  I kept talking about the type II diabetes in my family and my risk factors.  So she wrote my script for the 850 twice daily. I didn't have any GI problems. I did start out with half pills for a day or so just to be safe.

Unfortunately since then I've been hospitalized twice and while there they kept trying to stick me to monitor my sugars because I was on it. They finally "got" that I was taking it for bc reasons, not high sugars and stopped poking me.

fierceblue: thanks for responding!

alhusband: great news! so happy for you. I asked my MO about my follow up plan and if annual PET scan in there or not. He mentioned ..it will be only breast and ovaries for me. Pet scan will be done if I come up with some complaint which is suspicious. The issue with pet scan being done generally is that, there are always red spots in the scan which usually doesn't mean cancer. Your wife's red spot seems one of them. 

Take a big sigh of relief!!!! 

anybody heard of Fighter? Hope cat's treatment is going on well...

Good health to everybody!!!